


Observations from an Outsider

by Frenchiewrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, POV Harry Potter, Post-Hogwarts, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24000901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchiewrites/pseuds/Frenchiewrites
Summary: When they had won the Great Battle, after one hell of a year together, Harry had expected their friendship to be eternal. Apparently he was wrong. Harry makes some observations about a long-lost friend.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 14
Kudos: 173





	Observations from an Outsider

The Cauldron Cake was the new up and coming café in Diagon Alley. On weekends you had to be lucky to get a table. It was so full that the customers usually waited an hour to get one of their delicious pastries. On Wednesdays on the other hand… On Wednesday one had a free choice because nearly all the tables were free for the taking. Harry preferred Wednesdays, of course. Not so many customers and enough time for him and his friends to enjoy their lunch hour.

It was an unannounced tradition that he and his friends meet up at the café every Wednesday for lunch. Not everyone made it every week but they all tried nevertheless. Harry’s circle of friends hadn’t changed much since his Hogwarts days. With a few exceptions, of course.

This Wednesday wasn’t any different. Only a few customers occupied the tables and were talking to each other quietly. Ron had recently started analyzing the latest Quidditch match with Thaddeus Dorian, a burly Auror Harry had been partnered with since Ron had left to help his brother with the joke shop. Although it had been an interesting game Harry only listened half-heartedly and in turn started to watch the other customers.

„Mummy, do you think they have that chocolate cake I like so much?“ A blond boy stood in the door of the café and looked at his mother with excitement. His whole face had lit up and he danced around on his feet. Harry suspected that he must have been 5 years old. The same age his little Albus currently was.

„I don’t know, honey. Let’s find out!“ The voice sounded familiar. Very familiar. Harry looked up and had to blink twice before he recognized Hermione without difficulty. She hadn’t changed all that much and yet it was the little changes that made her seem like a whole new person. Her slightly darker hair was longer and completely straight. Gone was the bushy hair that had accompanied her through her childhood. She still wore Muggle clothing but they looked expensive and classy. Her whole new look made her almost look… aristocratic.

The boy on her hand dragged her to the counter in a fit of childish impatience. She just smiled while shaking her head and let him be. Once at a counter the boy pressed his nose against the display to see if there was indeed chocolate cake to be had. „Look, Mummy, there it is. Can I get some?“

With a small smile on her face she ruffled the boy’s hair. „That’s why we’re here. Of course, you can.“ She turned back to the barista and made her selections. After paying she turned around and guided the boy to one of the larger tables by the door. He immediately hopped onto the bench and looked out of the window. She sat beside him and turned her back to Harry to have her attention on the little boy.

„Where is he?“

„He will be here in a minute. Don’t worry. Come on, your cake will be here shortly. Let’s get you seated appropriately.“ Hermione helped the boy turn around so that he could sit comfortably while he began babbling about something that had happened to him during the day.

When they had won the Great Battle, after one hell of a year together, Harry had expected their friendship to be eternal. Apparently he was wrong. It already started to change shortly after the battle when Ron and Hermione got into a huge fight over her retrieving her parents from Australia. They promptly broke up over it and Hermione left for Australia with a huff. Their relationship never recovered.

She came back for her last year at Hogwarts three months later. Tanned and happy she greeted him on the train and told him everything about Australia, always leaving out news on her family. Instead, she talked about Sydney and surfing and what not. As if she never saw them. He later found out - through others - that she found them quite quickly but that the spell she had used couldn’t be reversed. It was too late.

In their last year the Golden Trio had been reduced to the Golden Duo on one side and another Duo on the other with Harry in the middle to negotiate between them. At that time Hermione and Harry were still close. Incredibly close. But he also couldn’t help but notice that she branched out on her friendships in that year, acquiring friends that weren’t also friends with Ron. Who she could talk to without the topics going back to Ron. Daphne Greengrass had been the most noticeable of them. Looking back on it she had been the beginning of their downfall. Harry should blame her for it but somehow he couldn’t.

As the time went by, when they all settled into their respective slots in life, the connection between Harry and Hermione became loose. Daily contact became weekly meetings which became a seasonal thing. Comfortable silences became awkward ones. She made more friendships outside their former circle of friends. Harry still considered Ron to be his best friend and saw him very regularly. It would have been weird to not see him if you take in the fact that Harry was very happily dating his sister. But Hermione… Hermione slipped away. Before he realized what had happened they had their now regular yearly coffee with each other and didn’t know want to say because the only things binding them together had happened in the past and the stories they could now tell each other consisted of people he didn’t want to talk about or - in Hermione’s case - hadn’t seen in years. Their last goodbye was stilted and they promised each other to do this again soon. It was a lie. They both knew it.

In between now and then a lot of stuff had happened: many weddings, promotions and a lot more children. And that was only his side of life. He saw her a couple of times over the years. Mostly in the Three Broomsticks or the Leaky Cauldron, always accompanied by her friends: Daphne, of course, and also Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, occasionally Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy as well. It bothered Harry immensely that all her friends seemed to be Slytherins. She seemed happy and relaxed on the other hand so he never confronted her about it. He also never saw one of the guys making a move on her. He hoped that she saw someone but it relieved him that she wouldn’t stoop so low and get together with a Slytherin.

A punch in his side brought him back to reality. „Merlin, is that..“ Ron trailed off mid-sentence.

„Yes, it’s Hermione, I believe,“ Harry confirmed.

Ron looked at him with excitement in his eyes. It was the nearly the same look the little boy had on his face when he had inquired about the cake. That fact alone made Ron’s expression a little bit disturbing.

„She looks hot. The years were definitely _very_ kind to her,“ Ron winked. Okay, maybe not only a little bit disturbing. Merlin, that man was married and had two children. He shouldn’t be lusting after his ex-girlfriend in a café. „Come on, let’s go over and talk to her.“

Before Harry could even object a little bit, Ron had already gotten up and strode over to Hermione. She still hadn’t noticed them and was quite busy talking to the little boy. Harry rushed after Ron. Of course, he wanted to talk to Hermione but a little voice in his head told him that he should also protect Ron from Hermione’s wrath. In the last few years before Hermione began ignoring the Weasleys altogether, conversations between them had the tendency to blow up. One of them got hurt every time. Mostly Ron, to be honest. After one particularly terrible row Hermione stopped showing up and things quieted down.

„Hermione Granger, fancy meeting you here. How are you?“ Ron had already initiated a conversation by the time he arrived.

Hermione turned around and squinted at them before recognition lit up in her eyes. „Ronald. Harry. Nice meeting you,“ she greeted them with a polite smile. „If you will excuse me, I am waiting for my father-in-law, he should be here any moment. Maybe we can chat some other time, my son and I are really looking forward to spending his lunch break with him und we do not want to be interrupted.“ Not even waiting for an answer she turned around to gently thank the waitress for the cakes and the beverages. There were three of each.

Harry began to make his excuses but Ron was having none of it. „Granger, don’t be such a spoil-sport. We haven’t seen each other in years. Let’s talk for a while.“

„Mummy, why is that man calling you Granger?“ The boy looked up at his mother with a frown on his face.

„Because that was my last name before I married your daddy, honey. Remember, Grandma and Grandpa’s name was Granger, wasn’t it? The ones you saw on the photos?“ She gently poked him on the nose and smiled again. From his short observation alone, Harry knew that Hermione was a wonderful mother. She was so gentle with the boy and radiated with love. The boy wanted to add something, his face already scrunched in protest but Ron cut him off.

„Well, what is now, then? If it’s not Granger?“ Ron demanded to know. It irritated her. Harry had seen the same mannerism more than enough times to know that this conversation could lead to serious injuries if he couldn’t find a way to break them up. He grabbed Ron’s arm to stir him away to their own table all the while wishing Hermione a good afternoon and fun with her father-in-law. Ron didn’t move an inch and looked at her expectantly.

„If you must know, Mr. Weasley, it’s Malfoy,“ a voice sneered behind them. Both men turned around in haste and stared at the newcomer. They hadn’t even heard him come in. There in all his glory stood Lucius Malfoy, arrogant as ever and looking like he had eaten something vile. While the war had damaged his reputation, it hadn’t been irreparable. On the contrary, the high regard they once had had come back stronger than ever. What a few donations, a philanthropic son and years of peace could achieve was still beyond Harry. With a last look at them, his features gentled and Lucius Malfoy chanced a look at Hermione. „Were they invited?“

„Not by me. Scorpius and I were waiting for you to arrive so that we can finally have chocolate cake.“ The boy giggled as Hermione tickled him. Harry couldn’t take his gaze off of her. Only a few years ago she would haven taken the bait and she and Ron would have already started screaming at each other. They were both notorious for their screaming matches. Now, she just ignored them and concentrated on giving the boy a good time. But in the short look she threw at Lucius Malfoy he could detect relief. She was happy to have him here as reinforcement, a buffer between her and Ron Weasley Harry suspected.

„Ah,“ Lucius began, „I see.“ He rounded the table and embraced Scorpius who ran towards him, crying out „Grandpa!“ on the way. Giving him back to his mother after a short welcome cuddle he turned around to Harry and Ron again. „If you were not invited, then I must insist you leave. I wish to eat with Hermione and my grandson. _Alone._ “

„Of course, Mr. Malfoy, I wish you a good day. Hermione.“ Harry nodded at them and finally got Ron to come with him. She never even acknowledged their departure as she was already inquiring about Lucius’ latest holiday in France. Harry could see the difference in her mannerisms immediately. For her son there was only love, for her father-in-law a lot of affection and respect and for Harry and Ron… there was indifference. They didn’t matter anymore, were replaced by more important people. In her eyes, not his.

When they were seated, Ron turned around and glared. „Mate, what was that?“

„What?“ He still could’t stop staring at Hermione and Lucius Malfoy. They looked comfortable together, as if this was a common occurrence. Something they might do every week. While her smile had vanished for them, she brung it back out for him in full force.

„ _Of course, Mr. Malfoy, I wish you a good day,“_ Ron mimicked him. Mockingly. „That’s Hermione over there. There’s no way in hell that she married the slimy git. I want to know what happened. This is just wrong.“

„Look at them, Ron. _Really_ look at them,“ Harry pointed over at them. Now it was the boy’s turn to tell a story from kindergarten. Both adults laughed with him and asked him question after question to make him keep talking. His interactions with the boy made Mr. Malfoy almost look like a decent human-being. Almost. „Hermione hasn’t been our friend for a long time. It looks like she belongs in their world now. We shouldn’t have pried.“

Harry concentrated back on the conversation in the group and discussed a new legislation with Anthony. It would bring them a huge workload reduction if it could pass and they all hoped for the best. Towards the end of their lunch he chanced another look at the Malfoys. To no avail. There were already gone.

He forgot about Hermione quickly. So quickly that he didn’t even tell Ginny about it later in the evening when she inquired about his day. Only a few days later though he was rudely reminded that he had met her. On one of his weekly shopping runs, no less. Ginny had run off to get some cheese while he contemplated which sort of salad would best suit the steak they wanted to serve that evening.

„Seriously, _Granger,_ do we really need all of this?“ A well-known voice behind him startled Harry. A voice that clearly belonged to Malfoy. Harry didn’t dare to turn around, didn’t want to cause a scene in the local Tesco with the husband of his former best friend. He did nevertheless. Only a few meters away stood his childhood nemesis, leaning on the railing of the shopping cart and smirking at his wife. Harry couldn’t stop comparing Malfoy - any Malfoy, really - to an aristocrat. His suit appeared to be expensive and well-tailored and made him look like a very rich and successful business-man. Every time Harry made the front-page news of the Daily Prophet he felt shame. Like he didn’t belong. He was just Harry, nothing special. The Malfoys on the other hand… even now on a Saturday midday during rush hour they looked like a couple with a rightful place on any front-page in the world.

„Yes, _Malfoy,_ if you insist to feed all our friends tonight, then we will need all that.“ Hermione smirked right back at him. Draco laughed at her reaction, snug an arm around her waist and leaned in for a kiss which she gave him very enthusiastically. Even after they stopped kissing, theydidn’t stop staring into each other’s eyes. They seemed so lost in their world that Harry chanced getting closer by looking at the strawberries right next to them. He would not have heard her next words if he hadn’t done that. „15 years of marriage, three children and a dog and you still call me _Granger._ Kinda makes the harassment you inflicted on me before our wedding a bit pointless, doesn’t it?“ Her teasing tone took the bite out of the sentence.

His laugh seemed genuine and affectionate. „I know very well what your last name is, Mrs. Malfoy,“ he said in a smug voice, like this had been the most important achievement of his whole life, „but you will always be _Granger_ to me. Until the end of our days.“

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> This is a one-shot at the moment but I am thinking about making it a longer story to provide the back-story. If you would like to read that, please let me know.


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